Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09/08/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-11, filed 01/09/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-10 and 12-21 under 103 U.S.C. respectively have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kondo (JP 2016197966).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (JP 2016197966) in view of Chai et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0169086).
As to independent claim 1, Kondo teaches an electric motor comprising: a rotor assembly (see abstract) including a rotor shaft (16); a stator assembly (13) including a plurality of stator segments (101), each stator segment including a core (101), an insulator (2) at least partially covering the core (1) and including a mounting portion (see annotated figure 2) , and a coil winding (3a) including a wire lead, the plurality of stator segments (101) including a first stator segment and a second stator segment adjacent the first stator segment in a circumferential direction as shown in figures 1-2 and 8.
PNG
media_image1.png
296
398
media_image1.png
Greyscale
However Harada teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except
a printed circuit board assembly coupled to the mounting portions and configured to direct electric current to each coil winding; wherein the printed circuit board assembly includes a plurality of peripheral slots formed at intervals about a periphery thereof, and wherein the wire leads are received into the peripheral slots and soldered to electrically connect the wire leads to the printed circuit board assembly.
Chai et al. teaches a printed circuit board assembly (300) coupled to the mounting portions (120) and configured to direct electric current to each coil winding (121-126); wherein the printed circuit board assembly (300) includes a plurality of peripheral slots (see annotated figure 1) formed at intervals about a periphery thereof, and wherein the wire leads (310, 320, 330) are received into the peripheral slots (see annotated figure 1) and soldered (see paragraph [0033]) to electrically connect the wire leads (310, 320, 330) to the printed circuit board assembly (300) as shown in figure 1, for the advantageous benefit of providing a new brushless motor having firm connections between corresponding coils.
PNG
media_image2.png
508
541
media_image2.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Kondo by using a printed circuit board assembly coupled to the mounting portions and configured to direct electric current to each coil winding; wherein the printed circuit board assembly includes a plurality of peripheral slots formed at intervals about a periphery thereof, and wherein the wire leads are received into the peripheral slots and soldered to electrically connect the wire leads to the printed circuit board assembly, as taught by Chai et al., to provide a new brushless motor having firm connections between corresponding coils.
As to claim 2/1, Kondo teaches wherein the plurality of stator segments (101) comprises a first stator segment (see figure 8) and a second stator segment (see figure 8) adjacent the first stator segment (see figure 8) in a circumferential direction as shown in figure 8.
Claim(s) 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (JP 2016197966) and Chai et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0169086) as applied in claim 2 above, and further in view of Endo et al. (US PG Pub 2018/0048194).
As to claim 3/2, Kondo in view of Chai et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the first stator segment is affixed to the second stator segment by laser welding.
However Endo et al. teaches the first stator segment (41) is affixed to the second stator segment (41) by laser welding (see paragraph [0032]) as shown in figure 2 and 3, for the advantageous benefit of providing reliably secure the circularity of the stator which faces the rotor, with a simple configuration.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Kondo in view of Chai et al. by using the first stator segment is affixed to the second stator segment by laser welding, as taught by Endo et al., to provide reliably secure the circularity of the stator which faces the rotor, with a simple configuration.
As to claim 4/2, Kondo teaches wherein the first stator segment (see annotated figure 8) includes a protrusion (see annotated figure 8) and the second stator segment (see annotated figure 8) includes a notch (see annotated figure 8) that receives the protrusion as shown in figure 8.
PNG
media_image3.png
491
741
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kondo (JP 2016197966) and Chai et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0169086) as applied in claim 1 above, and further in view of Sakata (US PG Pub 2008/0219867).
As to claim 5/1, Kondo in view of Chai et al. teaches the claimed limitation as discussed above except wherein the printed circuit board assembly is coupled to the mounting portions via fasteners.
However Sakata teaches the printed circuit board assembly (9) is coupled to the mounting portions (see annotated figure 2) via fasteners (100) as shown in figure 2, for the advantageous benefit of providing an electric motor in which a connection system from coils that constitute each phase to an external driving circuit is simplified, the number of parts is reduced, and lightness and compactness are realized.
PNG
media_image4.png
668
589
media_image4.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Kondo in view of Chai et al. by using the printed circuit board assembly is coupled to the mounting portions via fasteners, as taught by Sakata, to provide an electric motor in which a connection system from coils that constitute each phase to an external driving circuit is simplified, the number of parts is reduced, and lightness and compactness are realized.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7850. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:30-2:30 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, OLUSEYE IWARERE can be reached at (571)270-5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOSE A GONZALEZ QUINONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834 February 10, 2026